Matrix: Adaptive Middleware for Distributed Multiplayer Games

Building a distributed middleware infrastructure that provides the low latency required for massively multiplayer games while still maintaining consistency is non-trivial. Previous attempts have used static partitioning or client-based peer-to-peer techniques that do not scale well to a large number of players, perform poorly under dynamic workloads or hotspots, and impose significant programming burdens on game developers. We show that it is possible to build a scalable distributed system, called Matrix, that is easily usable by game developers. We show experimentally that Matrix provides good performance, especially when hotspots occur.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: MIDDLEWARE
• Authors: Rajesh Krishna Balan, Maria Ebling, Paul Castro, Archan Misra
• Keywords: Client-based Peer-to-peer Techniques, Game Developers, MIDDLEWARE 2005, Significant Programming Burdens